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The easiest
way to improve your race weekend
At
nwspecmiata.com we strive to provide information that will help the Spec Miata
driver and crew to be more effective. It occurred to me while reading an
article that I very deliberately do something every race weekend that improves
my performance – and you can easily do it too.
As I’m
loading the trailer and van for a race weekend, I make a trip to the store and
/ or deli and load a cooler with food and drink that I know my body reacts well
to. I learned this rule the hard way as a co-driver in my first important
Rally – Olympus.
My driver /
team owner was a gas station coffee drinking, Twinkie and Tootsie Roll
consuming nut job – with tons of natural driving talent. The last thing on his
mind was that we might need some “real food” over the course of a 4 day event
and I hadn’t established this regime yet.
Will I
survive?
After
nearly a week of pace-noting (which provides an opportunity to stop
occasionally for a decent burger) we were full on into the biggest logistical
nightmare of my motor racing career. And, once the nightmare starts, if you
don’t have a plan in place you’re a passenger - with a folder full of route
notes, in this case.
Every
morning on the first transit stage we would make our first “service stop” at
the AM/PM for a mega large coffee and a handful of candy (especially Tootsie
Rolls). It is possible for me to survive a diet of convenience store food for a
day, but my performance deteriorates and decision making suffers significantly after
that. 4 days… I feared my head would implode as I observed my driver’s
“natural talent” naturally diminish. “Are my belts still tight?”
My
Current Program
What I do
now is make a 10 minute trip though the local grocery. I buy a flat of bottled
water, 10 quarts of sports recovery drink (like Gatorade), enough sandwiches
for expected crew, friends and teammates and the ice to keep it cold (buy
sandwiches made with dense bread and without lettuce or lots of mayo – this
keeps them from getting soggy). The reason to get enough for everybody is this
helps keep somebody from going to the fast food place and bringing something
you want to avoid into the trailer – I’ll eat anything when I get hungry.
It is also
a good idea to bring some healthier versions of things like chips and soft
drinks. Low fat corn chips with salsa are a good idea.
I also love
coffee. But, I’m very picky about the type of coffee I drink as many styles
have a negative effect on me – this drives my team mates goofy (or they claim
that’s what is doing it). I need to know where my coffee is coming from, or I
need to bring it with me.
I also like
beer and at the end of a long day at the track I’m going to have one. As with
coffee there are certain styles my body prefers. If you know you are going to
have a beer at the end of the day anyway, bring the one that will have the
least negative impact on you. And also like coffee, if you are going to put it
into your body you need to make up for it with extra water (for example, I drink
at least 3 liters per day).
It is
important for me to avoid sugary drinks during the day on a race weekend too. But,
depending on the race schedule I will try to get a bike ride in on Friday or
Saturday of a race weekend. If I miss-calculate the hydration / eating / rest formula
for the day (or have been over training) I could need a slight jolt before the
final session of the day – right before. In this case a small amount of
Coca-Cola or one of the “high impact” energy drinks mixed with water will do
the trick. I prefer the Coca-Cola because I have experience with it. Which
brings an important point – do not experiment with foods or energy drinks
during a race weekend. If you don’t normally drink a lot of Red Bull, during a
race weekend is not the time to start.
So, just
like everything else you do on a race weekend your eating needs to be planned.
If nothing else, make sure to stay hydrated and avoid too much sugar and greasy
foods.
If you do
these things you will be faster and you will make fewer mistakes.
Brian Towey
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